Thieves swarm store in flash-mob robbery

A group of women shopping in a busy US mall have pulled off an astonishingly brazen "flash mob-style" robbery.

Security footage of the outrageous theft shows about eight women, aged between 18 and 25, casually walk into a sunglasses store in Santa Clarita, Los Angeles, and begin taking items from the shelves and putting them straight into their handbags – all the while being watched by a stunned shopkeeper metres away.

The women made no attempt to hide their faces as they looted an estimated $20,000 worth of goods from the store in a matter of seconds during the middle of the day on March 29.

"In a flash mob-type of sensation (they) cleaned out numerous pairs of sunglasses and other merchandise," Deputy Joshua Duban of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department told KTLA5.

The store worker is seen in the security footage watching helplessly as the women swarm the shelves and strip them bare before casually walking out after police are called.

The vision has been released in a bid to track down the women.

One witness says the women ran off on foot while others reported seeing them getting into a dark SUV to flee the scene.